Policy

US continues to work to end the war in Ukraine: concessions for both sides

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz said that the administration of President Donald Trump is making significant efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. In an interview on Sunday, he revealed details of a plan that includes European security guarantees and territorial concessions from Ukraine, Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing Voice of America.

Volz expressed dissatisfaction with the position of the Ukrainian president during his visit to the White House, as well as his refusal to sign the minerals agreement.

“Zelensky should clearly state that he is ready for peace… [he must] communicate with Washington and Russia to stop this war,”

– volz said.

The adviser emphasized that for a ceasefire to be achieved, each side must make concessions:

“This war has to stop, and that will require concessions on territory [from Ukraine], concessions from Russia on security guarantees, and all sides at the table. We are working hard to move these negotiations forward.”

According to Volz, Trump’s team has already held talks with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia about a possible deal with Ukraine.

“And then we’ll bring all the parties together, and only President Trump can do that,” he added,

– he added.

As for the terms of the future agreement, Volz said:

“it will obviously be some kind of territorial concessions in exchange for security guarantees for the future.”

He clarified that the responsibility for security guarantees should lie with European countries, recalling the statements of the UK and France regarding the possible deployment of their troops in Ukraine.

Volz also reiterated the U.S. position that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO,

“because that would automatically involve the U.S. military.”

And, of course, he expressed disappointment with Ukraine’s refusal to sign a minerals agreement that could

“unite our economies and change the nature of aid so that American taxpayers can be reimbursed.”

Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to emphasize that the Ukrainian side is not given any security guarantees.

“We are ready to sign an agreement on minerals, and this will be the first step towards security guarantees. But this is not enough, we need more. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We have been fighting for three years, and the Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side,”

– Zelensky said.

Negotiations in Riyadh and Istanbul

on February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Assistant Prime Minister Yuri Ushakov met in Saudi Arabia with an American delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Volz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

After the talks, the US State Department reported that the delegations agreed to “eliminate irritants” in bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The two sides also agreed to appoint high-level groups for further talks on Ukraine.

Jackie Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent at the White House, reported that the United States and Russia are discussing a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which consists of the following stages

1. A ceasefire.
2. Holding elections in Ukraine.
3. Conclusion of a peace agreement.

on February 27, negotiations between the Americans and Russians continued in Istanbul. According to the Russian side, they discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Kremlin also allegedly demanded the return of 6 properties that were seized from Russians in the United States during 2016-2018, and also proposed to resume air travel.

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Trump’s proposals to Putin

According to inaccurate information from former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul(he used the word “allegedly”), Trump offered Putin (McFaul’s wording is retained)

1. ukrainian territory;
2. ukraine’s non-membership in NATO;
3. no American soldiers in Ukraine;
4. withdrawal of American soldiers from Europe, including from frontline countries;
5. easing of sanctions.

According to McFaul, Putin has not offered anything yet.

Trump’s position on Ukraine

During the election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that he would stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. This deadline has already passed.

Also during the election, the media spread the so-called “Trump Plan”. The plan was that the United States would use its influence to stop the war, taking into account the status quo. To do this, Trump would force Putin and Zelenskyy to sit down at the negotiating table. If Putin does not agree to negotiate, the United States will give Ukraine all the weapons it needs to win on the battlefield. If Zelenskyy refuses to negotiate, the United States will completely stop helping Ukraine.

This plan, in its various variations, included a provision that Russia would retain the territories it temporarily occupied and that Ukraine would not join NATO.

However, later Trump seemed to “forget” about this plan. In particular, he voiced scenarios in which he would force Russia to capitulate due to the decline in world oil prices.

After Trump was elected President of the United States, one of his advisors, Brian Lanza, said that Ukraine should forget about Crimea. Trump’s entourage, however, was quick to deny this statement and said that Lanza could not speak on his behalf.

Currently, the US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is talking about 100 days within which he wants to reach some kind of agreement. Of these, 30 days have already passed. During this time, the US Presidential Administration has established contact with the Kremlin, an American envoy has traveled to Moscow, and a meeting of the highest level negotiators has taken place in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine was not present at this meeting.

Meanwhile, in exchange for military support, US President Donald Trump demanded $500 billion worth of rare earth metals from Ukraine. He said that the US should have access to Ukraine’s natural resources, regardless of whether Kyiv manages to reach a peace agreement with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that in exchange for this agreement, the Ukrainian side is not given any security guarantees.